Interview with ‘Saving Hope’ & ‘The LA Complex’s’ Kristopher Turner

You might remember Kristopher Turner from his role as Jamie on Instant Star, but these days you’re more likely to recognize him as Cam from The L.A. Complex or Dr. Gavin Murphy on Saving Hope. Check out HRC’s interview with him below, and don’t forget to tune in to Saving Hope‘s third episodetonight. If you need to catch up, you can check out last week’s recap here. Trust us when we say that this is one show you do not want to miss.

Saving Hope

Did you do anything beforehand to prepare to play a psych doctor on Saving Hope?

“Yes I did actually. I got to meet with some actual psych residents here in Toronto at Mount Sinai Hospital – which was really fun. I got to just sit in on one of their group lunch meetings, then I took a few of them aside and did some interviews one-on-one to pick their brains, hear their experiences – and why they do it – sort of hear their stories. It was really interesting.”

Are there any similarities between Gavin and you?

“Yes, for sure! Any role that you tackle, you look to bring out parts of yourself, you know? I always find that as a funny question because – especially in film and television – when you take on a role – it sort of becomes you. So it’s hard to say “Are you like your character?” because it’s like, “Well yeah. My character is me.” I mean, our living situations are different. When I was studying with the psyc residents and met them – they’re sort of like the artists of the hospitals, as I like to call them. Some of them even were actors and went to med school or painters or writers – they’re the people who like dealing one-on-one, who like the human interaction of healing and being with people on an emotional level – and psychological, obviously. If I were a doctor I would be a psychiatrist or psychologist.”

I have to ask – we couldn’t help but notice some looks, which makes us wonder – is your character Gavin in love with Maggie?

“Yeah. I don’t think I’m giving anything away by saying he definitely has a connection with Maggie, yeah. You know, I’ve worked with Julia [Taylor-Ross] before – and the funny thing is we’re often put in this situation of my character being in love with her character. We did a mini-series called Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures where I played a schizophrenic patient who was infatuated with her character. But it’s good to be two of the same people and having a regular relationship. They [Gavin and Maggie] certainly go through a lot together.”

Given that, how do you think Gavin is going to take the news of Maggie and Joel’s hook-up in the last episode? Is that something we’ll get to see?

“Well, I already know how he’s going to take the news. There’s a lot that goes into it. For people who are interested in that storyline, I think this episode is definitely a good one to watch – it comes on tonight – because we start to deal with that a little bit more. You will get to see that.”

Now you’ve gotten to play both sides of the psychology field – a psyc doctor on Saving Hope and a schizophrenic on Rookie Blue. What was that experience like – was it difficult to get into the mindset of a schizophrenic patient?

“I actually did it twice – on both Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures and Rookie Blue. That was really interesting – I worked with David Wellington who’s directed a lot of episodes on Saving Hope and he’s also an executive producer on that and on Rookie Blue – so it’s great working with him. Again, [the preparations for a character with schizophrenia involved] a lot of research online – and you try to understand where someone’s coming from. And that’s the scary part about what I was talking about before – the character becomes you – you bring yourself to be like “Okay, I’m not schizophrenic – I don’t think this way – but in what circumstances would I think this way?” You scarily find things in all of us that are actually relatable. You find that schizophrenia is not something that’s different than us but it’s actually part of us and it scarily comes out.”

The LA Complex

Now let’s switch gears a little bit and talk about LA Complex. The new season starts next month – we ended with Cam and Kevin getting (and almost immediately losing) a backer for their movie. So will the show pick up right where it left off?

“Yes, it is picking up where it left off, for sure. In terms of our [Kevin’s and Cam’s] storyline, in a way we have to go back to square one. We left off with that whole thing with Raquel [Jewel Staite], getting her to fund this movie, but at the end of the last episode she pulled that out from under us and our movie no longer has any money. So we’re starting from square one – and try to get that made again – and a lot of the characters are starting from square one after this. Yeah, it picks up where it left off and a lot more drama starts to happen after that. There’s also some great new storylines that start to develop from some new characters and some old characters going into some fun directions.”

Ellen Page has been sort of a hot topic between your characters. Are you an Ellen Page fan?

“Absolutely! I have huge respect for her. I’ve never met her in person, but certainly from her work, a Canadian girl who’s gone out and made it big – I have huge respect for that. I think she’s a very unique talent and it’s fun just to talk about her even if it’s only in the third person – to pretend to get to work with her.”

It seems like you guys are a pretty close cast. Who are you closest with on that show?

“Definitely with Jordan [Johnson-Hinds] who plays Kevin. It’s hard not to be, you know – as the dynamic duo on screen, every single one of our scenes are together. It’s like a two-headed monster in a way, for better or for worse. He’s been such an awesome guy to work with. He has a fantastic performing background – but certainly for film and TV, he’s sort of new and excited to learn. Myself, I’ve been doing this for over 10 years, and I don’t necessarily call myself a veteran, but there’s a lot more experience I can share with him, and at the same time, to see someone with fresh eyes on set is kind of contagious. We all sort of feed off of that fun energy. I love my job and love going into it every day, but it’s always a fun reminder when somebody’s seeing it for the first time, and you remember how awesome it is – the job you get to do.”

A Little Bit Zombie

Let’s talk about your latest film A Little Bit Zombie. It seems like it’s going to be a bit of a comedic take on the Zombie genre.

“Yes, it is. Because Casey [Walker], our director, owned this movie and was a director that had complete control over it, we got to make the movie on our own terms. We didn’t have notes coming down, and people telling us how we should do things. It was a very collaborative process and, at first, we didn’t know the kind of movie we were making, if that makes sense? In terms of the tone of it, we just started throwing stuff against the wall, and trying different things – and it found its voice as we went along. It was a really fun process. I mean, I was covered in blood and gunk and mud – everything splattered on me and falling into things. It was the most fun you can have as an actor.”

Did the humor make it difficult to stay serious on set?

“Yeah, we had a ball making that – it was one of the most fun [times] I’ve had on set. Casey would often – instead of calling cut – would just let allow us to start laughing. We’d try to hold it in during the scene, trying not to ruin the take, but at the end we’d just let it go and start laughing.”

Your character is a zombie in the movie, right?

“I’m a little bit zombie; that’s it. Like the title of the movie, I’m just “A Little Bit Zombie”. It’s about a guy who’s on his bachelor party weekend with his fiancé, his best friend, and sister, when he gets bit by a mosquito that previously had bit a zombie, and so he slowly starts to become a little bit zombie. But he still remains the nice guy that he is and still tring to plan his wedding – and be okay for that – while satiating his new craving for brains.”

That sounds like it’s going to be hilarious. We can’t wait to see it. Any news on when the film will be available?

“Yeah, you know, we’ve played it at a lot of film festivals and just to sit in the audience and hear everybody howl with laughter just makes that whole process worthwhile. We’re going to have, I believe, a DVD & Blu-Ray release either late this summer or early Fall. I don’t have specific dates for it but you can certainly go to the website and they keep updates going. We still have a few film festivals coming up soon as well.”

Getting to Know Kristopher Turner

Sounds like you’re keeping pretty busy filming – but what do you like to do when you’re not shooting?

“Good question; that seems so long ago now…. No, I’m kidding. I certainly like reading and [watching] movies, exercise, going out to the beach. I had a day off the other day and I was on the Toronto Islands. I’m also a big wine guy; I like to go wine tasting. My idea of a perfect vacation is being able to go out and drive – or I should say ride to the vineyards – have somebody else drive you to the vineyards – and do a wine tasting. Eating is a big hobby of mine too, cooking and going out to nice restaurants. Nice food, nice wine, cooking stuff at home.”

Oh so you cook. Can you cook well?

“Oh yes. I think so, anyway. My mother is a holistic nutritionist, and she taught me everything I know about cooking and eating well. The best part of going home is getting to taste Mom’s cooking.”

Do you have any pet peeves?

“Yeah. What’s the right word for it? I guess, people faking things is a big pet peeve of mine. You know, people who like to posture, to pretend that they’re not who they are. I think so much of our work as actors is to understand who we are – for better or worse – just to explore it and accept it. Nothing annoys me more than people who try to pretend be something that they’re not.”

What’s the last movie you saw in theaters?

“Prometheus – I liked it; it was pretty epic.”

What is your favorite song right now?

“Right now? I should go to my iTunes and see what’s been played the most. You know what I listen to a lot right now? I listen to – it’s not really a new song, but I just sort of, discovered it – is Florence + the Machine. A couple of her songs have been played a lot on my iPod, like “Dog Days Are Over” and “What the Water Gave Me”.”

Do you prefer coffee or tea?

“Tea. I’m making some iced tea right now, actually.”

Last question: What’s your favorite movie quote?

“The last line in Back to the Future, when doc comes back and then Marty and his girlfriend are in the car, and he says: “You know what doc, you better back up. We don’t have enough road to get up to 88,” and Doc responds: “Roads? Where we’re going… we don’t need roads”.”

Make sure you check out Saving Hope‘s new episode airing tonight at 9/8c. You can watch the trailer here: